


Expectations and reality

by Soleera



Series: Āctiōnēs secundum fideī [7]
Category: 2770 ab urbe condita - Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ancient Rome, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Imperial Security, Slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:41:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28510590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soleera/pseuds/Soleera
Summary: While Aurelia tries to figure out how she landed in this whole wedding planning mess, Cinna has an unexpected visitor.
Series: Āctiōnēs secundum fideī [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938643
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8
Collections: 2770 ab urbe condita - the collected fiction





	Expectations and reality

**Author's Note:**

> Marcia Aemilia Flaviana belongs to Dannilovesangst

Expectations and reality

Pulling a face while she scrolled through her messages – work-related and private alike – Aurelia noticed with a frown she hadn’t gotten any mails from Helena Terentia in the last few weeks. And her grandmother, who was still in her summer-villa, had been equally silent.

The nagging about the wedding of the two older women had stopped, shortly after the young couple wrote them, how grateful they were for all their help, but would now take the planning into their own hands. Aurelia had at least expected a call, in which one or both of the women protested, but there had been no such thing.

No calls and no messages.

If she had written such a mail to anybody else, she would have expected confirmation of any kind at least - or the obligatory protest. But here? Nothing.

This silence was suspicious.

Of course, there was the slim chance that Helena and her grandmother would respect Publius and her wishes… Aurelia snorted nearly aloud, without finishing the thought. The chances that the sky suddenly turned pastel green while pink elephants fall from purple clouds were higher.

Aurelia suppressed a groan. How in Jupiter’s and Juno’s name had they ended up in this situation?

Everything had been planned so perfectly after the official betrothal was announced. Publius and she had never been too keen on a big wedding and after he got his assignment for India they were even less interested in a large feast and all the other stuff.

Instead, they planned that Publius should see how things worked in India, while Aurelia made sure to have her wedding tunics and the flammeum ready. They planned that the first leave from duty he would get would be the perfect time to get married. Just the two of them, a priest of Juno and maybe another official as a witness. And of course, Ufa and Talia, but they hardly counted as witnesses, since they were slaves.

It wouldn’t have been such trouble to meet somewhere. India was far away, but Constantinople was a nice and big city, far enough away from both of their families. And booking a flight there could be done, even on short notice. It wasn’t like they hadn’t the money to pay extra for an overpriced journey.

A little bit of sightseeing, some relaxing time in a nice hotel – and of course a quick visit to the temple of Juno in their respective wedding clothes. Talia knew how to arrange Aurelia’s hair and the flame-coloured veil and Publius only needed a nice tunic and his toga. The whole thing could have been settled in less than an hour. Afterwards, they could have spent their first days as a married couple together, before Publius had to go back to India and Aurelia to Rome, where she would start to search for a house. By the time Publius would leave the legions he could have come home to a, hopefully, well-functioning household and his wife.

It had been a fool-proofed plan and which thankfully excluded any nagging and far too nosy relatives.

It fell with Publius wish to have at least his father as a witness for the vows.

As soon as he mentioned this idea, Aurelia wanted Cinna to be at her wedding too. And of course, if they invited Cinna, there was no way they could leave Titus out.

Then it occurred to Aurelia it would probably break her old gran's heart – and Aurelia was sure the old woman had one; somewhere – if her only grandchild married without her being present. Publius agreed with her in this and mentioned if she wanted to invite her grandmother he couldn’t leave his sister and mother out of this. And if they invited his whole immediate family…

That was the point where they realised they needed a new plan if they really wanted a small wedding. Which lead to the unfortunate idea to give Helena Terentia and Aufidia Gracia some leeway with the planning. It was no secret to anybody you dared to take a closer look that the two women couldn’t stand each other for whatever reason – Aurelia never cared enough to actually ask her gran for an explanation and it didn’t matter in the great scheme of things. These two didn’t live in the same city anymore, after all, and whatever caused the immense dislike had clearly happened more than ten years ago.

So how could Publius and she had known there was even the slightest chance these two women would call for a truce and actually work alongside each other? _Peacefully?!_

But that was exactly what had happened and now Aurelia had to deal with the aftermath. Which, of course, was her own fault. She was well aware of it and Cinna had told her so in no uncertain words. Aurelia was sure she could be thankful that her friend still helped her. Cinna had a lot of work of her own after all.

_And it seems like there will be something added on top_ , Aurelia thought, as she saw a man crossing through the open-plan office and stopping in the door to Cinna’s small office.

She knew him. Well, knowing would be a too strong word here, but Aurelia knew who he was - Manius Octavius Vindex. Imperial Security field agent, still running around Rome and the world despite being in his forties and… Cinna’s old superior. Her trainer too, according to everything Aurelia ever found out about the time before her friend changed the departments and became a data-analyst and information gatherer. She wondered what he wanted from Cinna. If it was about something private, they would have met outside of the plain, high building, which only offered space for offices which companies could rent.

Aurelia doubted anyone from the lower or upper floors working in this building even suspected the people working on floor twelve were ImpSec agents. Or that the whole building was owned by the Imperial family.

Which brought her to the conclusion Octavius Vindex was here for business. But what kind of business?

A question Cinna asked herself too, as soon as she spotted Octavius, leaning in the doorframe to her little office. She barely glanced with a lifted eyebrow at him before she concentrated on the report in front of her again, though. He would say what he wanted as soon as he wanted and not one second earlier or later.

“What? Not even a ‘Good morning’ from my most favourite student?” he asked with a disappointed look on his face.

Which was just pretended, Cinna was sure of it.

“It’s nearly lunch-time. And I’m not your student anymore.” She answered although a thin smile graced her lips.

“I beg your pardon, _Tribūne_.”

Cinna’s smile didn’t weaver as she heard the slightly sarcastic undertone in his voice. If she would react she would play directly in his hands and she had no intention of doing so. He would only explore her presumed weakness. If she didn’t react he would need to do give up his pretence first. 

She was right about that, as he snorted in amusement and came further in her little office, closing the door behind him and taking a seat on the only chair in front of her desk - after he put a stack of paper to the floor (which contained a lot more files, reports and other things she still had to go through). Cinna put the report she had been reading down and leaned back in her chair with a smile.

“So”, she said. “My old trainer and partner comes to my little dark office. In the middle of the day. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Always so suspicious”, Octavius smirked.

“I blame your training” Cinna answered dryly. “You caught me off-guard more than once and I decided one day, a little bit of paranoia would save me a lot of grief.”

“My training saved your arse. More than once.”

“Not only mine.” Cinna snorted and gave him a meaningful look.

“I never said something on the contrary” Octavius grinned. “You were one of my best students until they decided to make you an officer and you decided you wanted to go home every evening and kiss your kids and your husband goodnight.”

Cinna lifted one of her eyebrows as she heard his scoff, but didn’t take the bait. She knew what he thought about her choices – 'wasted potential' was something she had heard more than once from him. But it wasn’t his business what she did with her life and she wouldn’t discuss it with him anyway. Not anymore.

Not since he sneered at her when she told him she would become a mother. ‘ _You choose to bring some more spoiled brats into this world, instead of doing your duty to the Emperor?_ ’ were his exact words – and she had never forgotten them.

Juno, she wasn’t even sure if she had _forgiven_ him for this! Or that she ever could. He never apologized anyway.

But right now, she was ready to shove this memory away and put a friendly smile on her face. There was no reason why they couldn’t still work together, despite the rift in their personal relationship.

“What brings you here?” she asked with a neutral tone in her voice and a nondescript smile on her lips. “Surely you have traitors to hunt or delinquents to arrest.”

“Don’t get cheeky with me, girl. And I never arrested anybody,” Octavius answered with a grim smile on his own lips.

_As if I didn't know that_ , Cinna thought dryly, but didn’t comment on it. He was just trying to make her squirm – like always.

“I have a contact in Anatolia,” he started and leaned back in his own chair. “Good man. A little bit simple and he drinks sometimes too much, but he is loyal. And his information was always sound. However, he was witness to a very interesting event. Apparently, some soldiers, the local Vigiles and other people paid a little warehouse in Amastris a visit. It seems like they stopped some slavers there, who stole slaves from bigger cities like Constantinople and Athens and such, and kept them there to, sell them to other places.”

“A drunkard told you about some raid which stopped some illegal slavery,” Cinna repeated and crossed her arms with a frown. “I fail to see how we are involved in this. Besides the possible tax-fraud and that I approve of such raids.”

“My not so drunk friend saw also a young lady, who didn’t look like a Vigilium or a soldier. Fine clothing. Pretty. Young. Clearly a little spoiled lady.”

“I still don’t understand,” Cinna admitted, and Octavius rolled his eyes before he took a paper out of one of the many small satchels he had on his belt and handed it to her.

“He made a photo and send it to me. I checked who the girl was. The name rang a bell.”

Cinna took the slightly damaged and three times folded sheet, unfolded it and looked at the copy of a passport. She blinked once, gazed at Octavius who looked more than pleased with himself, blinked again and glanced back at the paper in her hand.

“Marcia Aemilia Flaviana?” she asked, to make sure, she hasn't misunderstood him.

But Octavius only nodded and a big grin was on his face, while Cinna groaned.

“Let me guess. You reported this and they send you to me because I know her?”

“Well, your little ankle-biter of a partner has been friends with her since birth. And your former owner and her father are best friends and you were often in Senator Aemilius house…”

“As Senator Granius concubīna! The last time I saw the girl she was… thirteen!” Cinna exclaimed before she gave him a warning look and growled: “And don’t call Aurelia an ankle-biter.” 

“Someone higher up then both of us thinks she could be promising material.” Octavius shrugged. “I’m sure you will get an order in the next days to check her over. Thought I give you a head start – you know, as a favour among _old_ friends.”

“And what exactly will this ‘favour’ cost me?”

Octavius snorted and stood up, while he gave her an insulted look.

“Nothing. You maybe remember that I’m not somebody who puts everything on a scale, Cinna.”

“I…” Cinna started, but then pressed her lips together and straightened her back. She would not apologize for this. Octavius wouldn’t be pleased if she did, quite the contrary even. He would probably think she lost her bite.

“Thank you, for the information,” she said instead and his resurfacing smile told her, she reacted right.

“Always”, he answered. “Good to see, you haven’t become soft while sitting on that chair.”

She only nodded and he turned on his heels, leaving her office without another word and at a brisk pace. Only when she was sure he wouldn’t come back she took another look at the sheet in her hands and sighed deeply.

“Oh, Marcia”, she muttered. “What is it with you patrician girls and getting in trouble all the time?”

**Author's Note:**

> concubīna - female concubine, which wasn’t always a slave (even if the male versions always were)
> 
> flammeum - flame-coloured veil, part of a Roman bride's traditional clothing
> 
> Tribūne – vocative of Tribunus; referring here to the rank of tribunus angusticlavius, also called thin-stripped tribune – a junior officer


End file.
